Don't get me wrong, there's a lot about Ubuntu to like — a lot I like — but I tend to write fairly critically about what seems to be the world's most popular free, open-source desktop operating system because not just I - but the rest of the user and developer communities - hold it up to a higher standard. And Ubuntu doesn't always measure up.

I wanted to share this idea for a long time. Upon reading "Linux guru: interface innovation is the challenge" from linuxtoday, I realize that I can postpone no longer. My suggestion is simple: give users a simple entry box much like a google search box with cues (or possible keyword completions that get automatically displayed, if you are command-line-interface oriented like me).

Nokia today announced the release of updates to Qt: the cross-platform application and UI framework, and Qt Creator: the new cross-platform Qt Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Also released were updates to the Qt Visual Studio Add-in and the Qt Eclipse Integration.

Whilst an increasing number of recent converts are avoiding it (and I don't blame them really), the shell is still a key tool for the majority of GNU/Linux users. Shell scripts are knocked-up, shared and deployed in all sorts of circumstances - some simply time-saving, others life-saving.

First, I must say that using CLI is not always faster, not necessarily. There are tasks which can be done faster and easier using some GUI application rather than typing a whole bunch of commands. But, nevertheless, command line is still very powerful and it's more appropriate to use it for certain tasks. I for one use probably 90% GUI tools and applications and only in 10% of the cases CLI.

With graphical user interfaces becoming more and more friendly and easy to use, new users of GNU/Linux and the BSDs can now get their daily work done without having to tinker around (very often) with a terminal.

Try to describe Hotwire, and you'll eventually wind up saying something that sounds like an oxymoron, like "command-line GUI," "graphical shell" or "GUI xterm." Well, that's pretty much what Hotwire is: something halfway between a text-based shell and a modern graphical user interface.